Sheila's Out Shopping: Great things for the "Great Gatsby" era

SHEILA MESULAM

6:00 AM, May 6, 2013

Beaded vintage purse from Vintage Charm

The 1920s are roaring back with the Friday opening of Baz Luhrmann's film "The Great Gatsby." The movie, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Carrie Mulligan and Tobey Maguire, gives us a peek into a lifestyle of luxury and indulgence.

The male stars wear clothing by Brooks Brothers, and the females are sporting jewels by Tiffany & Co. Both collections are available right here in Naples at the company's stores at Waterside Shops.

The Great Gatsby collection at Brooks Brothers will help coax men into wearing a hat this summer if it's this boater ($198) with a red-and-navy silk ribbon. Most would like to cut a rug in brown and white loafers ($598) or white wingtip bucks ($598). Add the bulldog head walking stick and they will be strutting in style ($148). Pick this white linen jacket ($698) or a striped blazer ($798) to wear out to dinner, but the shawl collar sweater ($148) might be more appropriate for a more casual lifestyle. Also available are shirts, ties, suspenders or braces, formal wear and of course bow ties. The '20s was when the preppy style became popular, and Brooks Brothers was F. Scott Fitzgerald store to shop.

Women will need pearls to give them the flapper look, and Pierre & Harry goes to great lengths to make sure you get the right ones. The company has a pearl stretch ring for $30 and necklaces up to the low $1,000's.

The Cote d'Azur freshwater pearl lariat necklace is 50 inches long and can be worn several ways. It is available in black, brown, pink, gray or multi color pearls. If you like crystals there's a crystal-and-Pearl Caroline ($125) that can be doubled or tripled. The Jess necklace ($365) is a 60-inch baroque pearl necklace that can also be doubled or tripled or worn long as a flapper would wear it.

Dress your hands up with the Coco bracelet ($165) that is a multi strand of freshwater pearls with a sterling silver clasp. This is just a small selection of what's available.

Vintage Charm has a variety of things from the 1920s and vintage-inspired new jewelry. I loved the jet, glass-beaded scarf ($99) and the reproduction of an Elsa Schiaparelli design faux broadtail capelet ($165). They are both perfect for Southwest Florida weather to ward off the cool evenings of winter or the air conditioning of summer. Add the vintage fingerless black lace above the elbow gloves ($55) and you are back in the '20s.

Get beaded purses from every era, and the framed, puffy, beaded purse ($110) with a short chain and crystal-encrusted closure looks as good today as it did years ago. The pair of peacock brooches ($325) and the topaz-colored stone bouquet pin ($159) will make any suit or dress a showpiece. Flip open this blue fan ($175) when you get warm and sneak a peak of its wooden handle in the mirror while you're cooling yourself.

You can also go back in time with items for your home. A metal hanging ($475) that adorned a Detroit hotel's ceiling in the '20s will look right at home behind your couch. Or set your table with this ruby glass cruet ($79).

When you serve fish, use this bone handled, silver plate, fish knife and fork serving set ($175). There are so many things in this store from every decade you will be revisiting things you remember your grandmother using.

Tiffany & Co. is where you can get that $200,000 diamond hair piece that Carrie Mulligan wears in the film or the art deco platinum, diamond and black lacquer bangle ($140,000). Most people would rather buy a house, but it is fun to see such extravagant jewels up close.

If you don't have an unlimited budget there is a freshwater pearl pendant ($250) or black onyx stud earrings ($135). The Ziegfeld ring is a pearl set in sterling silver with black onyx ($475), and if you need a gift for your favorite man there is the sterling silver-and-black enamel cuff links ($350). There are many more pieces that you can see in the store or online at tiffany.com.

You and your home can be as glamorous as you wish in opulent style of the '20s.

The verdict: I hate opening a box of cookies and then finding they are soggy a few days later. I was so glad to find Grab and Go Golden Oreo Cookies ($4.29) by Nabisco at Publix. These delicious cookies come in five individual wrapped packages with six cookies per pack that allow you to open one pack at a time and keep the others fresh. They are just what you want when you grab a snack.